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Unexpected rebooting: not the PSU, what else could it be?

Tags:
  • Power Supplies
  • Intel i7
  • Power
  • System Restart
  • Motherboards
  • Linux
Last response: in Components
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July 23, 2014 3:54:15 AM

After "upgrading" my machine (I've replaced so much, it's hard to call it an "upgrade" any more), the computer will frequently reboot, almost always within a minute of loading the operating system. The reboots take the form of the computer completely and immediately powering off, followed by a few seconds' delay, before turning back on.

The CPU isn't overheating--temperature rarely exceeds 40C and has only once gone above 60C--and I just replaced the PSU to no avail. In my experience CPU and RAM issues lead to kernel panics, and OS issues lead to less abrupt (and more descriptive) shutdowns than this.

So that leaves... what? The motherboard? Is there anything else I'm overlooking?

Relevant Specs:
-Intel i7-4790k
-Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H motherboard
-Seasonic G-Series 650W PSU
-OS: Ubuntu 14.04

The only other thing I could possibly think is that 650W is not enough power, but that seems insane, so here's everything else being powered by the PSU
-Corsair H60 liquid cooler (thru mobo)
-nVidia GT 430 video card (using it for D3D, not currently powering any monitors) (thru mobo)
-DVD combo burner, 1 SSD, 3 SATA HDDs, 1 PCI TV Tuner, several USB 2.0 devices
-Cooler Master HAF 932 case (read: 4x case fans)

More about : unexpected rebooting psu

July 23, 2014 4:04:33 AM

try disabling dast boot, in power options of windows, some z87 motherboards had a problem, when it would be turned on they would just reboot, disabling fast boot stoped it
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July 23, 2014 4:35:45 AM

cemerian said:
try disabling dast boot, in power options of windows, some z87 motherboards had a problem, when it would be turned on they would just reboot, disabling fast boot stoped it

I might be misunderstanding this answer, but I don't see how this applies: the issue is not that I'm caught in a reboot loop--it's that the system powers off within a minute of use. I'm also not running Windows, nor do I have a Z87 mobo.

I should clafiry: if I boot it up, log into the OS, and then just let it sit, the computer stays on and doesn't power off. It's only after I start doing stuff (sometimes as little as surfing the web, sometimes as much as loading a virtual machine, running USB capture software, and recording using screen capture) that it powers off.

Edit: when I get home, I'm going to flash the BIOS (I think I'm on F6 right now and there's an F8 version), then check for bulging capacitors on the mobo. But I'd still like advice on what to check if/when that doesn't work.
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July 24, 2014 5:27:58 AM

So last night I checked the mobo for bulging capacitors--nothing heinous--and then I flashed the BIOS from F6 to F8. I figured it was a long shot and knew it could potentially brick the board, but (1) I was looking at having to RMA the board anyway, (2) Gigabyte has "DualBIOS" *specifically* to ensure that it should be impossible to brick your mobo due to a failed BIOS, and (3) the changelog for version F8 *did say*: "Improve Intel K-sku CPU performance," and my chip is the 4790k.

So I start the flash procedure, get up to grab a glass of water, hear a beep when my back is turned and think to myself, "great--it rebooted in the middle of flashing the BIOS. THAT should be fun." And indeed--the computer boots to nothing but a black screen.

So I fill out the RMA request and decide to package up the mobo in the morning.

Morning comes, I decide to turn on the computer for kicks, I go and shower, and when I come back, I find the Ubuntu login screen.

"Huh," I think.

Turns out, the BIOS flashing worked just fine. The booting to a black screen was because the mobo's default setting is to display all the POST screens on the PCI graphics card. I didn't *have* anything plugged into the card (X11 configuration nightmares--the FX card is in there EXCLUSIVELY so that my Windows VM guest can use D3D). And then once I changed the settings and rebooted, the system behaved fine--no reboots in about 30 minutes of fairly heavy use.

More testing is of course needed to verify that this fixed the issue, but I am quite optimistic.

So, tl;dr--flashing the BIOS from F6 to F8 seems to have resolved the issue.

Another possibility is that after flashing the BIOS, I "loaded optimized defaults" (something I'm pretty sure I did before, but it's possible the config didn't save). That could have done something to fix it. But if the issue is indeed fixed (won't declare victory for several more days), I'm crediting the new firmware.

Update: 24 hours (and maybe an hours' worth of testing) later, still no unexpected reboots. Looking good...
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August 14, 2014 12:56:47 PM

Antar05 said:

So, flashing the BIOS from F6 to F8 seems to have resolved the issue.

Another possibility is that after flashing the BIOS, I "loaded optimized defaults" (something I'm pretty sure I did before, but it's possible the config didn't save). That could have done something to fix it. But if the issue is indeed fixed (won't declare victory for several more days), I'm crediting the new firmware.


Hello Antar,
I had the same issue with my Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H, I flashed the newest BIOS (F8) and my PC was working fine. But now I am facing the same problem again...

My specs:
Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H
Intel i7-4790K
4x4 GB RAM Corsair XMS3 (set in BIOS to XMP profile 1600)
MSI Geforce GTX 760 2GB
PSU Seasonic G 450W
SSD Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB
3x HDD Caviar Black 2TB
Adaptec 6405 RAID controller (3x HDD RAID 5)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

As I already mentioned, I had the same problem and tried following: I removed graphics card (turned the CPU graphics on), removed Adaptec controller and disconnected all HDDs. After booting Windows, my PC rebooted everytime, when I started any task, which needs "a bit more" CPU. For example I was not able to run the Windows Experience Assesment - my PC shut off at the "CPU task" and started again.
After several days trying I flashed the new BIOS version to F8 (the MoBo came equipped with F6) and then worked everything fine. But my PC was so often restarted, that not only the file system, but also the installed software was corrupted. I decided to install new fresh copy of Windows.
You can guess, what happened. I am facing the same problem AGAIN. I flashed the F8 again, loaded default values in BIOS, removed and disconnected hardware as before, but no success. Maybe I have to wait for the new F9 BIOS version :-)
I installed HWMonitor to check the CPU temperatures. Before upgrading BIOS I have seen temperatures above 90C, which is abnormally high. I touched the heatpipes at CPU cooler and I can swear, they were not that hot. I was thinking about bad placed cooler or missing thermal grease. But everything was ok. I have not seen any high temperature after BIOS upgrade, I think I have seen max. 70C at full load. I thought, the old BIOS version has an issue on how to read or interpret CPU temperature values and CPU (or motherboard) turned the PC off, to protect CPU from frying.
But now, running BIOS F8 with fresh Windows installation, shows the HWMonitor temperatures about 30C at idle but if is there any need of CPU, then PC shuts immediately down.

Any help or advice is welcome.

Update: I tried also to remove CMOS battery for 1 minute with disconnected AC, followed by loading default values in BIOS with no success.
I'm not sure if I'm experiencing a hardware or software (driver?) issue.
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August 20, 2014 4:52:04 AM

Hello folks,
my problem has been solved. After a lot of trying (BIOS flash, BIOS settings changed, RAM tested and changed) I changed also my PSU. I changed it to another of the same mark and power (Seasonic G 450W, a bit older model) and all problems have gone.
I sent my PSU to RMA - the main power branch is not working properly. I would never believe, that a brand new, high quality PSU, can behave this way. My problem is also not related to Gigabyte mainboard, but I would say, that BIOS version F7 is a minimum for succesfully running i7-4790K on this board.
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